Indeed, while the 33-year-old was no longer at the requisite level to break into the Irons first team, Keown believes it was more an issue of the experienced midfielder taking a 'no nonsense' approach towards his manager.

"He felt like Sam’s brains on the pitch. I don’t think Allardyce did him any favours though, he earned that.

"He can still do a useful job for somebody, as long as his legs are still there. He is certainly a no nonsense person and I suspect he may not have seen eye to eye with Slaven Bilic. He may well have thought: ‘I don’t need this at this stage of my career’ so he’s off."

Then again, West Ham fans haven't taken too kindly to the idea of the east London side forcing Nolan out when they haven't yet signed a replacement in midfield - and may well end up going without one.

Could Nolan have lasted longer at Upton Park if Bilic was more understanding of his role? Or are the east London side going to be better off simply getting rid of a player that was no longer up to the right standards?

Tim Poole

Tim Poole is a sports journalist for HITC with a love of football, tennis and snooker in particular.His career to date has seen him speak to former Manchester United boss David Moyes, interview snooker world champion Mark Selby and be snubbed by Premier League managers and players in more than one language!He is a massive Roger Federer fan and lives by the motto that 'sport is life.' When he's not writing about it, he's playing it, be it football, tennis, basketball, badminton, table tennis, darts, snooker, golf or even water polo. He is better at some than others...